State Of The Sport

He actually seems more invested, more informed as opposed to OxyBrian.
 
IMO it is very important for Nascar to diligently work toward gaining acceptance with younger men and women. If you build a product in demand by the desired demographic a lot of their other problems disappear.
 
He actually seems more invested, more informed as opposed to OxyBrian.

It looked like Brian was thinking about his next fix with all of the sweating he was usually doing that was his number one focus IMO. Phelps does a great job expressing himself, yeah he dances around a bit, but that is to be expected I think. He has been very vocal and transparent since he took over the reigns
 
What jumps out at me is that Phelps continues to hint that 2020 will see significant schedule changes, a year ahead of what most people presumed due to the agreements in place. An officially combined and private NASCAR / ISC could move, add, and subtract from the ISC dates pretty much as desired.
 
That is really only a season away, it's feasible that they might announce schedule changes during next year if they can work things out. I like how he mentioned mid week races. That is one of the things I would be excited about if that happened.
 
Changing schedules around would be nice for much of the current fan base. Would it help in growing or stabilizing the series?
 
What jumps out at me is that Phelps continues to hint that 2020 will see significant schedule changes, a year ahead of what most people presumed due to the agreements in place. An officially combined and private NASCAR / ISC could move, add, and subtract from the ISC dates pretty much as desired.
And not just ISC, perhaps. If NASCAR forces ISC to swallow some unpleasant "medicine," that gives them huge leverage to force SMI to swallow some as well.

Does anyone have comment about the Q & A below about drivers not enjoying their job and lack of passion for racing? It is from the transcript, not in the video. I'm guessing it is Gluck..:oops:
Q. Steve, I got a chance to go to a few different kinds of racing series this year, and one thing I was struck by coming back here was that it doesn't seem the drivers here have as much fun or show passion or joy or happiness in that same way that they do in other series. Is there anything NASCAR can do to get the drivers here back to where it looks like they're having fun again?

STEVE PHELPS: You know, I think that's -- this afternoon you're going to see a driver having fun for sure. He's going to win a championship. There's going to be raw emotion. It's going to be amazing. There are three of them that are going to win a second championship or one who will win his first. So, there will be raw emotion and excitement around that for sure. You know, we have a long season, and I think that if you look at our drivers, to generalize it as they're not having fun, I think is a little bit unfair. Are there drivers that have bad days and not as excited as they might be? You probably have that now and again. With that said, we've got some tremendous, young and up-and-coming drivers who are excited about going to the racetrack and trying to win and compete every day, and so, again, I think it's a -- I know I'm having fun. I hope you guys are having fun out there, too. But I think to say that our drivers are not having fun I think is a generalization.
 
What jumps out at me is that Phelps continues to hint that 2020 will see significant schedule changes, a year ahead of what most people presumed due to the agreements in place. An officially combined and private NASCAR / ISC could move, add, and subtract from the ISC dates pretty much as desired.
They said the offer to buy ISC was so secret, many of the principles in the company weren't aware of it right until they went public with it to prevent insider trading. I hope they get it done. In the transcript Phelps didn't have anything to say about that.
And not just ISC, perhaps. If NASCAR forces ISC to swallow some unpleasant "medicine," that gives them huge leverage to force SMI to swallow some as well.
Does anyone have comment about the Q & A below about drivers not enjoying their job and lack of passion for racing? It is from the transcript, not in the video. I'm guessing it is Gluck..:oops:
SMI is moving forward and so far doesn't seem affected an article said. I know they are pushing the Nashville track, and they gambled and won pretty big on the Roval. It was a real crowd pleaser.
They said the offer to buy ISC was so secret, many of the principles in the company weren't aware of it right until they went public with it to prevent insider trading. I hope they get it done. In the transcript Phelps didn't have anything to say about that.
But changes are afoot
Are there other structural changes that will come down the line? There
probably will. I can't speak to the ISC acquisition, but what I will say is to me, if
you look at the message that has been sent from Lesa Kennedy and Jim
France, it's that we're going to double down on this sport because we believe in
it. We believe this sport is going to grow. We believe this sport is its best
days are ahead of it. I'm thrilled to be part of that. I'm thrilled to be part of their
management team. We have a lot of opportunity, and we're excited about where we're
going.
 
“it's that we're going to double down on this sport because we believe in
it. We believe this sport is going to grow. We believe this sport is its best
days are ahead of it.”

Whistling past the graveyard or the man with a plan?
 
I think China will be next, a group bought a large track in I think Arizona recently. The same bunch that have tracks in China I believe.

What that looks like in the future, I'm not sure. Are we open to
exhibition races? I think we are open to exhibition races, and we'll certainly
work with our race teams to look at that. International is a very important area
for us. We think its incredibly fertile ground for us as a sport. We've got
successful series in Canada, México and Europe. Could I see other
grass roots racing series around the world? I can. We're on television in 185
markets in some form or fashion. It's an important growth area for us.
 
NASCAR can't draw fans here yet they want to expand to China, yeh that makes a lot of sense. Midweek racing works for the trucks at Eldora, but to go to it for Cup...I just don't see it working. Hell mid week races at the local level here have tough time drawing in Modified country.
 
NASCAR can't draw fans here yet they want to expand to China, yeh that makes a lot of sense. Midweek racing works for the trucks at Eldora, but to go to it for Cup...I just don't see it working. Hell mid week races at the local level here have tough time drawing in Modified country.


Im with you on this. I can barely stay awake for the night races when I dont have to work the next day. No way I am staying up for a mid week race.
 
Does anyone have comment about the Q & A below about drivers not enjoying their job and lack of passion for racing? It is from the transcript, not in the video. I'm guessing it is Gluck..:oops:

Yeah, it definitely sounded like Gluck. He's branching out as a formerly NASCAR-only follower, coincidentally into stuff like sprint cars and SX that I'm into, so he's bound to notice the enthusiasm and passion for racing he hasn't been exposed to before.

What's weird is that the types of racing he is getting into have even longer, more arduous seasons than NASCAR does.

He may be noticing something real regarding this sense of roteness, but I think he is incorrectly attributing it to lack of driver passion. I'd get into it more, but I'm curious if anyone else has thoughts first.
 
I don't agree with a lot of what Gluck says. His experience in going to other venues for the first time? Some of us here have been to many many sprint car races and have way more experience about the ins and outs than he does.The thing that makes those series unique is that they don't have a lot of guys like him running around looking for a story. It is like walking and flying between the those series and so is the racing. WoO? Gluck thinks he is away from home a lot? Let him follow the outlaws for a season. We will see how enthusiastic he is after that.
 
Why would Nascar drivers be less than enthused about their chosen profession? IDK why but here are a few guesses.

A crappy work life balance

A numbingly long season

A poorer compensation plan than stick and ball

Constant changes to the cars

Rules for 2019 that are not driver friendly
 
Why would Nascar drivers be less than enthused about their chosen profession? IDK why but here are a few guesses.

A crappy work life balance

A numbingly long season

A poorer compensation plan than stick and ball

Constant changes to the cars

Rules for 2019 that are not driver friendly

Making six and seven figures to drive a car?
 
Why would Nascar drivers be less than enthused about their chosen profession? IDK why but here are a few guesses.

A crappy work life balance

A numbingly long season

A poorer compensation plan than stick and ball

Perhaps, but the flaw with that being the answer to Gluck's question regarding other types of racing is that I can assure you that Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, and anyone working on a sprint car team have an objectively crappier "work / life balance" and longer season to grind through, as do Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson, and anyone trying to make it as a professional motocross rider.

These are the types of racing Gluck discovered in 2018. While I'm glad for that, I think he's enthralled with it because it's new to him. The passion may be more evident there because those guys really do live and breathe what they do to an absurd degree.
 
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It looked like Brian was thinking about his next fix with all of the sweating he was usually doing that was his number one focus IMO. Phelps does a great job expressing himself, yeah he dances around a bit, but that is to be expected I think. He has been very vocal and transparent since he took over the reigns

Same **** different speech really. My takeaways....We are looking at hybrids, and we have to go to Australia for ideas. Jesus Christ.
 
Perhaps, but the flaw with that being the answer to Gluck's question regarding other types of racing is that I can assure you that Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, and anyone working on a sprint car team have an objectively crappier "work / life balance" and longer season to grind through, as do Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson, and anyone trying to make it as a professional motocross rider.
While the cup and Xfinity and the truck drivers wait to get on a plane to be home in a couple hours, Tony Stewart and others are driving the dually trailer rig full of T-shirts to the next gig. Driver friendly means they get to ride shotgun
 
Why would Nascar drivers be less than enthused about their chosen profession? IDK why but here are a few guesses.

A crappy work life balance

A numbingly long season

A poorer compensation plan than stick and ball

Constant changes to the cars

Rules for 2019 that are not driver friendly

What about they are spoiled bitches?
 
What about they are spoiled bitches?

I wouldn't phrase it that way, because it's just human nature. But yes, the way to increase someone's "passion" for a job is not to compensate them lavishly for it. Do that, and they are bound to look around and see that there are other things to enjoy in life.

I'm not arguing that drivers should be paid less.
 
Driver friendly, *chuckle*, that's a good one Skoal.

I used driver friendly as I am trying not to use term dumbed down to refer to next year’s rules. I don’t want to insult you or the other person that are already big fans of it.
 
Perhaps, but the flaw with that being the answer to Gluck's question regarding other types of racing is that I can assure you that Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, and anyone working on a sprint car team have an objectively crappier "work / life balance" and longer season to grind through, as do Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson, and anyone trying to make it as a professional motocross rider.

These are the types of racing Gluck discovered in 2018. While I'm glad for that, I think he's enthralled with it because it's new to him. The passion may be more evident there because those guys really do live and breathe what they do to an absurd degree.

Your points make sense.
 
What about they are spoiled bitches?

A lot of the younger drivers today come from wealth and have different expectations than guys years ago. Not saying it is good or bad but just different.
 
A lot of the younger drivers today come from wealth and have different expectations than guys years ago. Not saying it is good or bad but just different.
That isn't correct, Racing has always been a rich mans game, still is. There has always been a much larger pool of drivers wanting a ride, and with few exceptions when the choice between the two, a driver who brings money to the table in the form of a sponsor and family resources usually will get the nod. you have to remember this isn't stick ball sports where money doesn't count unless it is under the table.
 
That isn't correct, Racing has always been a rich mans game, still is. There has always been a much larger pool of drivers wanting a ride, and with few exceptions when the choice between the two, a driver who brings money to the table in the form of a sponsor and family resources usually will get the nod. you have to remember this isn't stick ball sports where money doesn't count unless it is under the table.

Guys like Denny Hamlin didn’t have a pot to piss in when he came on board but guys like JLo, Blaney and Elliott came in amply supplied.
 
Why would Nascar drivers be less than enthused about their chosen profession? IDK why but here are a few guesses.

A crappy work life balance

A numbingly long season

A poorer compensation plan than stick and ball

Constant changes to the cars

Rules for 2019 that are not driver friendly
I'm not sure if this is a serious post from someone who doesn't understand racers, or a joke post. The season is 38 races, each requiring 2 or 3 days at the track. There is some additional preparation time, and some sponsor obligations for some. If the work is too onerous or the season too long, why do so many Cup drivers seek out additional races... Xfinity, trucks, late models, sprint cars, modifieds, sports cars? Hint: it ain't for the money.

Not many drivers earn as much as Jimmie Johnson, but Cup money ain't bad. Probably a dozen drivers north of $8-9 million per year. F1 has three guys that make Cup drivers look like working stiffs, plus a couple more who earn Nascar-type money. No other form of auto racing comes close.

As for stick-and-ball money, not too many Cup drivers have teams seeking to sign them up. I mean, Brad Keselowski could surely sign with the Detroit Pistons if he wanted to, but would they pay him ~$10-12 million per year for a long career? You be the judge on that...
 
The Blaney family is not wealthy.
neither were the Logano's. If people were watching and listening to the victory lane broadcast instead of doing something else, they would have heard Joey's dad say he sold his business to keep Joey going. And that is called family resources on the table. Sigh
 
I'm certain Logano and Blaney did not pay for their Cup rides. I'm pretty sure Chase Elliott also didn't. Paul Menard did. And you can always find a few Timmy Hill-types at the back of the field. The deathbedders narrative that Cup rides these days require bringing money just doesn't hold up... unless you define Nascar in terms of Paul Menard and Timmy Hill rather than actual relevant drivers and teams who make up the sport.

And this holds true again in 2019. The new entrants into Cup announced for next year are Ryan Preece and Daniel Hemric... not wealthy, Cup rides not purchased. The deathbedders need a new schtick!
 
I partially disagree, money to run in the lower series catches the eye of the higher ups, the potential sponsors, etc. Preece took all of his sponsor's yearly money budget to buy a ride in a Gibbs car.
 
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